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Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund — Alleged Investment Fraud

Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund Allegedly Ran a $1 Billion Fraud Incorporating Thousands of Investors Nationwide through Hundreds of Limited Liability Corporations; Woodbridge is a Real Estate Investment Company Owned by Robert Shapiro and is under Investigation by the SEC

Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund, of Sherman Oaks, California, allegedly raised over $1 billion from several thousand investors nationwide through hundreds of limited liability corporations, according to Court Documents filed in the Southern District of Florida currently under review by attorneys Jason kane and James Booker.

Investors who believe they may have lost money in activity related to Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund’s alleged investment fraud are encouraged to contact attorneys Jason kane or James Booker with any useful information or for a free, no obligation discussion about their options.

Woodbridge Group of Companies, which is a real estate investment company headed up by Robert Shapiro, allegedly operated a fraud on its investors through the purported sale of “unregistered securities, the sale of securities by unregistered brokers and the commission of fraud in connection with the offer, purchase and sale of securities”, according to SEC Documents related to the investigation.

The SEC purportedly requested Documents from Woodbridge, and when Woodbridge allegedly did not provide said documents, a subpoena was issued on January 31, the SEC reports. Said subpoena allegedly asked that Woodbridge identify its investors, show sales agents’ compensation, and provide emails from three high-level executives and turn over a privilege log, the SEC Documents note.

Woodbridge did allegedly provide some documents, but not the sum total of which was requested, and hence, a second subpoena was issued on July 17, according to SEC Documents.

In the meantime, Woodbridge has given some personal and corporate e-mails to the government, and some of those purportedly included missives from CEO Shapiro, the managing director Dayne Roseman, and 10 others, according to a Court Documents filed on September 19.

Woodbridge was purportedly made to release any e-mails that had any of the 23 keywords requested by the SEC which included a wide variety of terms such as “pay” and “Bob” from the huge cache of approximately 23,000 emails, according to SEC Documents.

Some Reports Believe that Woodbridge’s High Asking Prices Are Disturbing and Could Suggest, Even in a Sparkling Spec Market, an Inflated Property Bubble; Shapiro Recently Bought the Owlwood Estate, a Property which has had a Long List of Influential owners, including Sonny and Cher and Tony Curtis

Woodbridge-related entities have been extremely energetic in the L.A. market lately, according to Reports from California being reviewed by attorneys Jason kane and James Booker.

For example, Sturmer Pippin Investments, an LLC headed by Bob Shapiro, in an off-market transaction for $90 million, recently made the purchase of the Owlwood Estate, the former home of Sonny and Cher, Tony Curtis, Superior Oil Founder William Keck, 20th Century Fox co-founder Joseph Schenck, according to a release from the brokerages on the deal.

The Owlwood Estate is a 12,200-square-foot property acquired for $90 million and now listed for sale for double its purchase price — $180 million, and another Woodbridge-related LLC has announced plans in May to develop a Bel Air spec mansion on land it acquired for $14.6 million in 2016, a property which is slated to be finished in 2018 and listed for $100 million, or $19 million if bought before development begins, the reports note.

The company’s soaring asking prices — even on properties that have not been renovated — are allegedly very worrisome, some sources said, even in the sparkling market for spec mansions, according to the reports. Some believe that the firm could allegedly be hyper-inflating the value of its investments in order to portray a scenario different than reality, the reports state.

Some sources from California even allege that Woodbridge’s business model as reminiscent of a “Ponzi scheme”, the reports note.

Woodbridge already faced litigation between 2015 and 2017 from state governments in Massachusetts, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Texas, court documents show. Woodbridge has also allegedly settled actions in Pennsylvania, Texas and Massachusetts and is settlement talks in other states, Shapiro has allegedly stated.

Securities Lawyers Investigating

The Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane securities lawyers often represent investors who lose money as a result of investment-related fraud or misconduct and are currently investigating Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund’s alleged investment fraud. They take most cases of this type on a contingency fee basis and advance the case costs, and only get paid for their fees and costs out of money they recover for their clients.

Investors who believe they lost money as a result of Woodbridge Mortgage Investment Fund’s alleged investment fraud may contact the securities lawyers at Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane, Jason kane or James Booker, for a free no-obligation evaluation of their recovery options, at 585-310-5140 or via e-mail at jkane@prwlegal.com or jbooker@prwlegal.com.

Important Case Records

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Peiffer Wolf Carr & Kane is a nationwide litigation firm that has represented hundreds of investors who lost money in fraudulent investment schemes across the country. The firm has the size, expertise, resources, and manpower to prosecute complex cases against leading financial institutions nationwide. » Read More

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